[Gken]

The thing I hate about the Surface is that I don't have one yet.

Haha same here buddy.

I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with windows phones, but the same things happened to WP7 users with long loading app times and performance issues. All solved with one update. They probably will be pushing that update out asap. I assume.

[stephen_az]

I was lucky to get my surface on Thursday. I'm actually using it to submit this.
This is amazing. But if you want to know where is comes short, here are the cons:

Soft speakers. Yet too soft. It works fine for one person in a quiet room, bit don't expect to entertain anyone. It is considerably softer than my moms original iPad.

Grainy screen. Yes the ppi is 147. TEXT looks fine but the graphics is a bit grainy. Not a deal breaker but noticeable. It does look better than moms iPad. I think that is 137 ppi.

The worst: under powered cpu. This is a gorgeous platform for tablet os. Love it. But you defiantly feel the cpu being pushed to the limit. Forget 1080p playback. 720p also plays in slightly lower frame rate. It is noticeable. My titan 1 phone plays videos smoother then surface. You notice long app launch times.

If the cpu is enhanced, makes a huge difference, even in ui and user experience. I will be looking at other RT tablets out there.

Personally, I haven't found the screen to be grainy at all. I also have pushed the thing today and can't agree that it is sluggish or underpowered. Ran Windows Update and installed all available updates, went back a second time and installed the Office 2013 update, installed the 20 (or so) app updates in the app store, rebooted, and it is far more responsive than the Transformer Prime I dumped.

[apoc527]

Exactly. I'm coming from a first generation iPad so I personally think the screen is great.

This thing is really the coolest gadget I've ever bought.

Same here. I've found that the PDF rendering isn't quite up to par yet. I hope they fix that. On every other app (web, OneNote, Word, etc), the text looks great, but not in PDFs. It'll get corrected.

[Gken]

ok so I was going to post about typing on the touch cover, but I am a fast typist like upwards of 80 wpm and I actually really like the touch cover. I thought because of all the reviews it would take some getting used to but I geniunely really enjoy typing on it and it feels great.

[karmamule]

I've been using my Surface almost constantly since I got it. I've found it's especially great when stretched out on a couch or bed when you flip the keyboard back and then pop out the stand. That props it up nicely on my stomach/chest (depending on how nearsighted I'm feeling) and then both hands are free for swiping/touching.

Love it!!!

[Guzzler3]

I find that surprising and hope a software update can fix that as both my iPad 2 and 4s can play make 720p MKV files (via a 3rd party app) without an issue since Apple have allowed devs access to the GPU for video playback.

What format HD video did you use?

I'm going to catch some grief for this, but... MP4 is generally more accepted on a greater number of platforms than MKV now.

You might look into HandBrake to recode your MKV's to MP4 (x264/AAC or AC3) on a desktop/laptop system. Then play them on your tablet.

Now, if your MKV's are already encoded in x264/H264 (video) and AAC/AC3 (audio), there is software out there to demux the files out of the MKV, and remux them into MP4 more quickly than Handbrake. Bing/Google search will be required to learn about this.

[Manic4Mobile]

I love my surface RT, much better than some blog sites made it out to be, but then I wasn't looking for something to play games on since I use my Xbox for that.

If I had to pick one thing to fix right away it would be to update the email client so I can select more than one email to move at a time. I get lots of daily reports/logs that need to be relocated after I've scanned them and it'd be nice to have a check box like the windows phone app has that allows me to move multiple email at once. Minor issue since I can whip out my phone and do it, but it'd be nice to include that feature. I'm sure it's probably going to get updated eventually. Outlook web access also works, but it's not very finger friendly.

[toddpart]

I love my surface RT, much better than some blog sites made it out to be, but then I wasn't looking for something to play games on since I use my Xbox for that.

If I had to pick one thing to fix right away it would be to update the email client so I can select more than one email to move at a time. I get lots of daily reports/logs that need to be relocated after I've scanned them and it'd be nice to have a check box like the windows phone app has that allows me to move multiple email at once. Minor issue since I can whip out my phone and do it, but it'd be nice to include that feature. I'm sure it's probably going to get updated eventually. Outlook web access also works, but it's not very finger friendly.

You can already do this in the Mail client that comes with WinRT. Just swipe to the right on the emails in your Inbox that you want to multi-select. They'll get a little checkmark on them and then you can choose to delete or move to another folder.

[Flagz]

You can already do this in the Mail client that comes with WinRT. Just swipe to the right on the emails in your Inbox that you want to multi-select. They'll get a little checkmark on them and then you can choose to delete or move to another folder.

And you can even multi select down the whole list with the touch cover, click the first email you want to delete, scroll all the way down the list, hold the shift key and select the last email, and wah la! I deleted 250 emails in a matter of seconds.

[Flagz]

I love my surface RT, much better than some blog sites made it out to be, but then I wasn't looking for something to play games on since I use my Xbox for that.

If I had to pick one thing to fix right away it would be to update the email client so I can select more than one email to move at a time. I get lots of daily reports/logs that need to be relocated after I've scanned them and it'd be nice to have a check box like the windows phone app has that allows me to move multiple email at once. Minor issue since I can whip out my phone and do it, but it'd be nice to include that feature. I'm sure it's probably going to get updated eventually. Outlook web access also works, but it's not very finger friendly.

crap also forgot if you select on email and need to delete everything at once (junk folder) you can also use touch cover to press ctrl+a to select all instead of selecting multiple. I do that for my junk folder on secondary email.

[Joelist]

I have to plead guilty to hanging a bit on the fence - primarily due to financial concerns but secondarily due to use case. I have tried tablets before and keep going back to a notebook because I just can't do enough on the tablet to justify having it.

I am hoping that Surface changes that paradigm and finally there is a tablet that really does do everything I use a notebook for.

[johnbash612]

Not true, you have it backwards. 6 out of 9 preferred SURFACE!!

"We ran two blind tests, pitting the Surface RT against a third-generation Retina Display iPad. Both tablets were side by side in a room with ambient light from large windows. We cranked the brightness all the way up and hid the devices behind a sheet of heavy cardboard with two holes of equal size cut into it, so viewers could only see the screens. We then asked members of Wireds staff to come in and judge for themselves, without knowing which device they were viewing.

In our video test, running an HD version of The Avengers, twice as many viewers preferred the Surface to the iPad (six to three)."

ladies and gentlemen, though this is accurate, the review goes on to compare text clarity. In that comparison, there was almost a unanimous agreement that the ipad 3 was better. As a person who has been reading digital texbooks I definitely agree. first off the surface is cumbersome for reading because the screen is longer and you have real estate that is wasted (but great for movies). I chose to get the surface because of its productivity aspect, it was worth the sacrifice of super clear text---which the ipad definitely wins on. Had to be said. I definitely notice in reader that I have to really zoom into textbook sections to have a pleasant reading experience, with an ipad I could have the page zoomed out all the way and still read the fine text, mind you this was with the original ipad, so that's sort of disappointing. maybe there will be a 3rd party app that optimizes text clarity? I hope so.

[bensun6]

No simple wireless speaker and video feature is a bit bummer. Especially when coming from iPad airplay.

Normally if I watch a YouTube video and the built in speaker volume is too low I just hit a button and the sound goes to my speakers...miss that

[jonldevries]

I love my surface RT, much better than some blog sites made it out to be, but then I wasn't looking for something to play games on since I use my Xbox for that.

If I had to pick one thing to fix right away it would be to update the email client so I can select more than one email to move at a time. I get lots of daily reports/logs that need to be relocated after I've scanned them and it'd be nice to have a check box like the windows phone app has that allows me to move multiple email at once. Minor issue since I can whip out my phone and do it, but it'd be nice to include that feature. I'm sure it's probably going to get updated eventually. Outlook web access also works, but it's not very finger friendly.

You can multiselect, swipe from right to left on the email header

[Gken]

Exactly. I'm coming from a first generation iPad so I personally think the screen is great.

This thing is really the coolest gadget I've ever bought.

+1 on this, I don't say this much. But I am 100% satisfied and more with the surface, it is everything I dreamt of and more. As I use it everyday and play with it, things are continuously surprising me of how well thought out everything is. The gesture password is really cool!

I guess the one reservation I have is when I am running netflix and the battery is getting low, like 5% or less, the screen tends to flicker on me a little. Probably because its trying to conserve battery. Other than that, no complaints on my end.

[GoodThings2Life]

Same here. I've found that the PDF rendering isn't quite up to par yet. I hope they fix that. On every other app (web, OneNote, Word, etc), the text looks great, but not in PDFs. It'll get corrected.

It could be the PDF though. Is it text or image based?




Anyway, I really love my Surface. Regardless of resolution, the display is gorgeous. The whole thing is very well designed. The handful of glitches can be fixed, and no reason they can't add features as we go too.

[Dare2Blink]

I was lucky to get my surface on Thursday. I'm actually using it to submit this.
This is amazing. But if you want to know where is comes short, here are the cons:

Soft speakers. Yet too soft. It works fine for one person in a quiet room, bit don't expect to entertain anyone. It is considerably softer than my moms original iPad.

Grainy screen. Yes the ppi is 147. TEXT looks fine but the graphics is a bit grainy. Not a deal breaker but noticeable. It does look better than moms iPad. I think that is 137 ppi.

The worst: under powered cpu. This is a gorgeous platform for tablet os. Love it. But you defiantly feel the cpu being pushed to the limit. Forget 1080p playback. 720p also plays in slightly lower frame rate. It is noticeable. My titan 1 phone plays videos smoother then surface. You notice long app launch times.

If the cpu is enhanced, makes a huge difference, even in ui and user experience. I will be looking at other RT tablets out there.

I am a bit worried about the apparent under performance of RT. Please tell me how many apps oppened at once can it handle without slowing down. Also I wonder that software updates will make it run smoother or if this is as fast as it will get on surface RT. I seriously cant understand why it cant play 1080 p vdeos smoothy let alone 720 p. Hope that is fixed somehow, either way im getting the pro version but would still want the RT version to be a bit faster for everyone who gets it.

[ShortStuff]

does anyone
know if the surface has nfc?

[rx74ray]

I find that surprising and hope a software update can fix that as both my iPad 2 and 4s can play make 720p MKV files (via a 3rd party app) without an issue since Apple have allowed devs access to the GPU for video playback.

What format HD video did you use?

I was just playing videos from YouTube directly on the browser, and it was sluggish.
but here is what happened after wards. I installed some standing windows updates and rebooted. now the surface is performing amazingly. it is noticeably faster, my browser is buttery smooth (it used to be jerky on scrolling/loading), also the video is flawless. I tested again on 720p and 1080p, no issues. I am pleased. I am typing this with my touch cover, what an experience. very cool.

is it just me or the battery life totally rocks?

[Reflexx]

does anyone

know if the surface has nfc?

It does not.

If that's important to you, Asus VivoTab does.

[Gken]

I love my surface RT, much better than some blog sites made it out to be, but then I wasn't looking for something to play games on since I use my Xbox for that.

If I had to pick one thing to fix right away it would be to update the email client so I can select more than one email to move at a time. I get lots of daily reports/logs that need to be relocated after I've scanned them and it'd be nice to have a check box like the windows phone app has that allows me to move multiple email at once. Minor issue since I can whip out my phone and do it, but it'd be nice to include that feature. I'm sure it's probably going to get updated eventually. Outlook web access also works, but it's not very finger friendly.

yeah I really wish they included outlook on this beast, but the mail client is ok. They admitted the client actually really sucks balls, hopefully some updates get thrown out here in a couple days or a week. You should try some games, they are actually really fun, mobile fun, but fun nonetheless.

I'm willing to bet everything is not optimized for the RT, but microsoft needed to get the product out in our hands ASAP, lots of updates are probably gonna be coming our way. Just look at how fast they fixed the youtube/flash problem. (I really appreciate how well the surface displays websites, flash compatibility is NOT overrated, still need it)

[rx74ray]

I am a bit worried about the apparent under performance of RT. Please tell me how many apps oppened at once can it handle without slowing down. Also I wonder that software updates will make it run smoother or if this is as fast as it will get on surface RT. I seriously cant understand why it cant play 1080 p vdeos smoothy let alone 720 p. Hope that is fixed somehow, either way im getting the pro version but would still want the RT version to be a bit faster for everyone who gets it.

I posted an update to my comments a few posts back...

[Digital Moe]

The really need a feature that allows you to bounce to the top of a web page like in ios.

[Buttowski]

I was just playing videos from YouTube directly on the browser, and it was sluggish.
but here is what happened after wards. I installed some standing windows updates and rebooted. now the surface is performing amazingly. it is noticeably faster, my browser is buttery smooth (it used to be jerky on scrolling/loading), also the video is flawless. I tested again on 720p and 1080p, no issues. I am pleased. I am typing this with my touch cover, what an experience. very cool.

is it just me or the battery life totally rocks?

Yes, watched The Avengers today in all of its 1080p glory and it was perfectly smooth.

Yes, battery life is excellent.

My only real gripe which I think is a legitimate gripe is the low speaker volume. Had to watch the movie with headphones to really enjoy it.

[badMojo69]

Oh and I need the t3 app.